How to move a refrigerator

How to move a refrigerator

Should you move the refrigerator on your own?As a professional mover, we are not recommending moving refrigerators on your own. Hiring a professional mover near you is the number one choice because they have the proper equipment, experienced manpower, insurance coverage, and efficient teamwork. They are hired and trained to deal with the toughest situation, and the will make it right at the first time. Even if they make mistakes, our customer still get the cover from the insurance, which customers may not have if they are going to do it by themselves. However sometimes you need to do it yourself and we hope this article helps teach you how to move a refrigerator.

Here is the proper preparation for moving a fridge to a new place

1. Remove all the contents in and outside of the fridge

We must remove all movable contents before trying to move the fridge. Food, containers, trays, magnets (the fridge’s front surface), and miscellaneous items must be held tight or taken out in order to avoid rattling around. For perishable items, we have to finish them off or throw them away; because a large move takes longer, perishable food will get worse day after day. For a short distance (same house or same room), we should organize the kitchen and the counter as a temporary place for the contents inside while the fridge move is going on. Then, cleaning the behind and gently placing the feet of the fridge under moving rollers, this is very important to make a place for unplugging the wire and easily transporting the new location.

2. Remove the inside racks

All fridge’s components such as, trays, dividers, cabinets, racks, should be removed and wrapped carefully, or we can store all of them in any fridge’s drawers that can be fitted in. The purposes of this is to avoid bent and loss for those unique accessories. However, there is another option for us if we don’t want to remove those things. We can secure them in place by lightly applying an enough amount of tape. Don’t overuse the tape because the adhesives from the tape will be hard to clean off. This method is recommended for old fridge models because the accessories are cheap and easy to be replaced if broken.

3. Unplug the wire

The fridge coil or wire needs to unplug at any circumstances right after all the contents are settled. We also have to disconnect the water supply for the ice maker part. All the wires and coils must be taped tidily so as to make sure that they are staying in place when moving.

4. Defrost the freezer

Nobody wants a messy move, especially with water. Whenever the fridge is unplugged, frost is starting to melt and discarding water gradually. If we don’t catch it on time, our belongings will get wet and spoiled. It usually takes 6 to 8 hours to defrost; therefore, a fridge with frost needs to defrost at least a night before the moving day. This is also a good chance for us to clean and scrub our fridge with disinfectant wipes from inside to outside before bringing it to the new place.

5. Secure the fridge doors

We can’t move anything with a losing part, and it is the same with the refrigerator and freezer. Don’t use tape because it will lose adhesive if placing under the heat as well as damaging the surface of the fridge with its residue. Using a rope, a cable, or anything that is strong and less elasticity to secure the door at all time. It is better to keep the fridge dry to avoid molding when keeping all doors close tight. If the move is delayed for some reasons, keep the doors open until the interior is completely dry out.

6. Finding a helper

Even with equipment, we can’t handle a regular fridge by ourselves. It would require at least 2 people plus equipment to move a regular refrigerator. Whenever moving a fridge, it needs to be help upright and put on a dolly. Because the fridge is tall, it will block the sight. This is when we need a second person to maneuver the dolly around the corners, doors, stairs, and into a truck.

1. How to move a refrigerator with a dolly

A dolly is the ‘must-have’ equipment on moving day. The dolly can handle the weight from the fridge effectively and easily transport it to anywhere even with going up and down stairs. However, not all dollies would work. Depending on the size of the refrigerator, we have to use the proper base size dolly. If the base is not big enough, it will cause imbalance when moving and the coolant may leak. We can also use the moving straps, but we are not recommending moving straps because it may lead to injuries, not to mention buying new moving straps is more expensive but less effective than renting a dolly. Dolly is a common equipment that is available at any moving companies, or it may be included in the moving service package.

2. Secure the refrigerator on the dolly

We need at least 2 people to perform this step. One person gently lifts up an edge, and the other slides the dolly base under the fridge then let if fall to the back of the dolly. After that, we should use moving straps or ropes to isolate the fridge on the doll as well as maintaining the upright position at a constant tilt angle so that the oil can not blend in the coolant tube. We always have to move the refrigerator on its front side and never move it on its other sides because of the coolant imbalance which may cause the fridge to malfunction.

3. Balancing the refrigerator and how to move a refrigerator downstairs

When the refrigerator is hooked into the dolly properly, it is time to tilt it to the proper angle before moving it to the moving truck. It is better to use dragging method instead of pushing the dolly because the tilt will be constant better in dragging method than in pushing method. One person drags, and one helper directs and cleans up the path for the walk through obstacles, and secures the fridge. In order to move the fridge downstairs, we should only move one step at a time. The helper is responsible for securing the drop spot so that the fridge would not flip out the step.

4. How to move a refrigerator into the truck

There will be 2 typical types of trucks during the move; pick-up trucks and moving trucks. It is quite difficult to use a pick-up truck because the fridge must be lifted up in order to set the fridge on the truck bed. To do that, we need at least 3 people to lift the fridge onto the lip of the truck bed. There is a trick to load the fridge. One person must slowly back up the truck while the others steadily lift the base and slide it on the truck bed. Of course, we have to wrap and cover the truck bed so that there will be no damage on the fridge surface. Nevertheless, we recommend using moving truck instead of a pick-up truck. First of all, a moving truck is spacious and has straps. Secondly, it is ‘climate-controlled’ storage, so customers don’t need to worry about rain or heat. Thirdly, it always has the ramp or a lift gate, so we can roll it on and off easily. We must always keep the fridge at an upright position at all times and have heavy items bracing around or strap with restraints in order to avoid a fall during the move. For more information on how to move a refrigerator with a pickup truck check out How to Load a Refrigerator into a Pickup Truck

5. How to move a refrigerator to the new place

We use the same steps in reverse to bring the fridge down and use a dolly to move it to the new place. However, we should not plug in and use right away, we should wait for a couple of hours. This step will help the oil and fluid return to the compressor normally, so as to avoid damaging our refrigerator. The ideal temperature will return to normal in a few days.

Why is it important to know how to move a refrigerator?

The refrigerator is the most basic appliance that every single family must have. Over time, the refrigerator is changing in both interior and exterior, because it is no longer doing only one job, which preserves the food. A modern kitchen always gets along with a modern fridge. The interior has not changed much because of the purpose of using is unchanged while the exterior is making a revolutionary change. Aluminum, carbon fiber, glass, and veneer are very common nowadays because these materials will boost the luxury and elegance of our kitchen area. Right now, a fridge can be used as an ice machine, a food preservation unit, an ice-cream maker, a food storage, or etc. Besides those purposes, the refrigerator contributes an important role in our houses, which is decoration. Nowadays, a household refrigerator costs around a five hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the cubic feet, the material, and the technologies; therefore, the refrigerator is another way of showing off the owner’s images of abundant and affluent life. That is the reason why an expensive refrigerator needs special treatment when moving from place to place. Indeed, the refrigerator is always spotted first whenever a person entering the kitchen for the first time. By the end of the move, we never want any damages to either our new house or our appliances. A dent on an appliance surface is even more annoying than a hole on the wall. For example, it is like a dent on our car’s door, and because we see it every day, it needs to be fixed at all cost; if we don’t fix it properly, people will underestimate our status and value. Same as the refrigerator, it is hard to cover and costly to fix, but we have a chance to protect it, why should we go without protection? It is all about hiring a professional moving company to take care of not only your refrigerator but also other appliances. This is why it is important to know how to move a refrigerator.